AJOB Empirical Bioethics

VOL. 5 No. 2 | April 2014

01/24/2012

Yes, it’s true. Bieber Fever has spread far and wide. But it isn’t just tweens who are following the pop star, Justin Bieber’s, every move. Apparently his Twitter feed has quite an effect on his fellow Canadians in regard to organ donation.

Capitalizing on the young star’s success, Helene Campbell, 20, asked him to Tweet about the Trillium Gift of Life Network to incentivize signing up for being an organ donor, says Canada’s National Post.

And shockingly, it worked. More than 500 people signed up to be organ donors after Bieber’s tweet. All it takes is just a few words from a celebrity to make a difference. It was as easy as a 140 character plea for help in response to Campbell:

“@alungstory i got the word …. You have amazing strength. I got u. #BeAnOrganDonor.””

No, we got u, Bieber. Way to take a stand for your fellow Canadians waiting on the transplant list and to encourage others to put themselves on the transplant list.

If only now we could get you, Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morrisette to tweet about the virtues of the universal healthcare system in Canada. Our Canadian celebrity pals just might make us sit up and take notice to other health care issues as well.